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I asked this question. It got approved in the sandbox, but apparently it will be closed and downvoted on the main site.

The only explanation I got is based on a fallacious interpretation of the backstory:

Currently it sounds like [...] you want us to provide you with a magic formula to make him/her send you your stuff.

while I instead clearly state that my aim is to receive updates not stuff, since the stuff has already been sent (and I wrote this in the question.

Can someone please let me know how to make that question acceptable for IPS?

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    I think your question is fine. It seems you know who the first downvoter is. The second may have been a "sheep downvoter". You received 5 upvotes after that. That's a pretty decent turnaround. It probably got a bit buried now, which is why it is probably not receiving more votes. I wouldn't worry about it.
    – Belle
    Aug 9, 2018 at 11:54
  • @Belle-Sophie thanks for the comment. yes you're right, I wrote here on meta just before closure (and before the second upvote) because I was worried about the feedback I got until that point. FYI, I know the third downvoter, the first two downvoted before I deleted it momentarily while I passed by in the sandbox.
    – Federico
    Aug 9, 2018 at 11:57

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The main problem with how the question is phrased is that the focus is on the state of the package (lost in delivery/customs) and not the quality of communication.

I agree that your title is clear, and it sounds fine if you bother to read the whole way through, but at first glance it seems like you want advice on how to get your stuff -- and, apparently, there are many on this site who skim and downvote, instead of reading carefully (in addition to those who downvote and vote to close because they don't like the question).

I see at the moment you have a decent number of upvotes and an accepted answer, but in the future it might be better to shift the paragraphs around to open with a focus on getting updates from the sender, rather than a background of the problem. All that stuff about customs is incidental -- what you really want is to get the sender to take action, but not to be a jerk about it. Maybe something like

I was supposed to have received a package a few weeks ago, but there was a problem with the delivery and I currently don't know where it is. I've been told it's the sender's responsibility to open an inquiry into what happened, and until then there's nothing I can do.

How do I politely "pester" the sender to follow-up on this, without coming across as a nuisance?

More information: etc...

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